Regional Costs of Living

Tamara G · #1 (**permalink**) 02-12-2005, 12:56 AM

I am moving in a couple of weeks from Nebraska to the Washington D.C. area, and I'd rather not have to work full time when we arrive. (My husband has a new job there).

I've been hit with major "sticker shock" as far as housing and child care go, but I don't know how much I need to budget for other necessities like groceries.

Anyway, I'm particularly interested in advice/cost estimates from anyone who lives near DC, but I'd like this thread to be a place where we can compare our costs for groceries and other life necessities, no matter what part of the country we live in.

Any takers?

terry1156 · #2 (**permalink**) 02-12-2005, 09:07 AM

I can't help you much since I live on the west coast, but I know that prices for housing and services are outrageous. To the point where we are considering moving. We could sell our average house here and live in a mansion in most other places in the country (we live in northern CA just north of San Francisco).

DivaJen · #3 (**permalink**) 02-12-2005, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terry1156

I can't help you much since I live on the west coast, but I know that prices for housing and services are outrageous. To the point where we are considering moving. We could sell our average house here and live in a mansion in most other places in the country (we live in northern CA just north of San Francisco).

Same here, only we're down closer to Santa Barbara (and since DH loves where he works now, there are no plans to move). At one point, we halfway considered moving to the outskirts of Santa Fe, NM. We could get A LOT of house and land there for what we originally paid for this place.

I think rents here for a 2 BR apartment are running about $1500/mo or more. The median home price is around $550K, I think. I don't know how people starting out could live here now. It's insane. When DH and I bought, we were two teachers with no kids, and we were down to our last hundred dollars when we put that down payment down. Now, there's no way we could buy into this market.

JLP · #4 (**permalink**) 02-13-2005, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tamara G

...I'm particularly interested in advice/cost estimates from anyone who lives near DC, but I'd like this thread to be a place where we can compare our costs for groceries and other life necessities, no matter what part of the country we live in.

Any takers?

Well, I can't help you much either. I live in Southeast Texas. My wife and I were in DC the fall of 2003. We didn't go grocery shopping so I don't know what the prices were like.

JLP

terry1156 · #5 (**permalink**) 02-13-2005, 01:57 PM

How do you live someplace and not go grocery shopping?

JLP · #6 (**permalink**) 02-13-2005, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terry1156

How do you live someplace and not go grocery shopping?

LOL! We didn't LIVE there. We were there on business/vacation.

JLP

terry1156 · #7 (**permalink**) 02-13-2005, 02:40 PM

lol..sorry about that. I guess I wasn't really thinking

gakline · #8 (**permalink**) 02-14-2005, 01:34 PM

Here's a great website to quickly compare cities.

http://www.bestplaces.net/city/ccompare.aspx

PennyPincher · #9 (**permalink**) 02-14-2005, 02:17 PM

I live in southern Virginia, but the northern part of the state and the D.C. area is pretty pricey. There are many high-level and high-paying jobs, and the housing market certainly keeps up! I hope that you don't have to pay for the move, and that a significant salary increase was part of the deal.

I'm sure you can make it work. Enjoy what the city has to offer ~ good luck!

haychalet · #10 (**permalink**) 02-28-2005, 05:28 PM

I live in Northern Virginia, about 20 miles to DC and the area here is crazy! Both my husband and I are 25, got married in October, earn approx. 80K a year and can't afford to buy a house in this area! Currenlty we are living on my in-laws property, converted a detached garage into a 700sf apartment and are living there for now. The chepest house you can find here about 40 miles from DC is 300k, and that's for about 1300sf. I wonder everyday how we are going to be able to buy a house here. Guess this isn't the place for 2 non college degree people starting out. Good luck with your move!

amomof4 · #11 (**permalink**) 02-28-2005, 10:46 PM

If you think u r in sticker shock with housing & childcare, wait til u find out what's going to happen to your auto insurance. I had a freind who took a job transfer from San Bernardino to Burbank & the auto insurance at all his increase in pay.

byusteeler · #12 (**permalink**) 03-16-2005, 05:25 PM

As for cost of living regionally, It is hard to compare because different families have different needs. For instance car insurance depends on a lot of factors. I am insuring a teenage boy so my rates are high. As for groceries there again it depends on your eating habits. Do you cook from scratch or buy a lot of prepared items. For cost comparisons however I will give some expamples. I live in rural Utah but, not too far from Salt Lake.
A gallon of milk runs $2 ( this is a sale price but can usually be obtained at one of the 3 local grocers.) If not on sale anywhere I pay $2.50 A good loaf of bread can be purchased for about a$1. Less for the airfilled stuff, More for the major name brands. Vegetables vary but you can usually get something on sale. Last month I got broccoli and cauliflower for 59 cent a pound. Apples last week were 79 cent a lb. Grapes 99 cents, Strawberries $2.50 Meat varies but you can usually get a decent cut of steak for around $5 a pound. I never pay more than $2 a pound for boneless skinless chicken breast. ( yes I know this is probably not very frugal of me but I do not do chicken with bones and skin and I only like the breasts) If you like the cheaper parts of the chicken you can get legs and thighs for around 75 cents a pound or less on sale. Some kind of boneless pork can usually be purchased for between $1 and $2 a pound. Gasoline is running at about $1.90 this week. I don't know what else might help others compare regional prices. Oh housing, We are much less expensive than Salt Lake but you can buy a new house here for as little as $110,000 for about 1000 Sq. ft no basement, vinyl siding, 3bdrm ,1 bath, 1 car carport , 7000 sq ft lot. My existing Brick home built in 1979 has 1667 sq ft on the main, about 1000 sq ft basement, 4 bedroom, 3 baths, 2 car garage on about 1/3 of an acre has a realistic market value of about 135,000. I was going to include utility bills but things such as size of family and entertainment habits effect those. I would be interested in knowing what others around the country are paying for some basic items.

skipper · #13 (**permalink**) 03-16-2005, 05:40 PM

we live in western maryland were the cost of living is very low we paid 15000 dollars for our house three years ago spent 30000 remodeling it ourselves and its now valued at 153000 but one good thing about DC is lots of free things to do. most museums and sites are free. so you can save money on entertainment. we go once ayear for a mini vacation and it cost us very little and our daughter has an educational vacation

gakline · #14 (**permalink**) 03-17-2005, 07:32 AM

I live in a trendy west suburb of Chicago and my townhouse cost 165,000 for 1200 sq ft. This year some of my neighbors are selling for 185,000. Yes, I paid quite a bit, but I'm close to the city, and close to a highway and small single family houses (smaller than mine) are selling for upwards of 350,000. I am almost certain that there will not be a real estate bubble in my area. I can get a dozen eggs for under $1. Gas is $2.08. THere's also plenty of free stuff in my area and chicago.

kashi · #15 (**permalink**) 03-17-2005, 08:00 AM

Monster Moving has several tools for figuring out how much you'll need if you move.
Compare Two Cities
MSN's City Comparison
Other fun links:
Find Your Spot
Sperling's Best Places
Salary Calculator